Bible Quest looks nothing like other Bible curriculums, but what makes it so different? Bible Quest is different both in its intent and its approach.
A Difference of Intent
First, Bible Quest is a program that equips parents and mentors to teach students how to acquire Biblical Truth. In other words, parents and other caring mentors will have the tools they need not only to instruct their students in the Word of God, but to teach their students how to learn God’s Word on their own for the rest of their lives.
Second, Bible Quest does not aim to help students "discover" knowledge, understanding, or wisdom. A popular concept in Western culture is the idea that a student should discover truth, but this stands in direct opposition to the idea of revealed foundational truth. The difference between a student "discovering" knowledge and a student learning from revelation is one of foundation:
The discovery method relies on human intellect and reasoning (the student’s) to help the student ‘grasp’ a concept.
Accepting revelation, on the other hand, relies on disclosure of truth from authority (ultimately God’s Word) and mastery of that information.
While human beings can certainly reason and gain knowledge through experience, God’s ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9). Thus, a student’s Biblical learning should begin with revealed knowledge.
A Difference of Approach
The Bible Quest system is based on the classical model of education, which leverages the process of learning that every person engages in whenever they learn any subject. This process is divided into three stages: Knowledge, Understanding, and Wisdom, corresponding to the grammar, dialectic, and rhetoric stages of the classical model Trivium. For a basic introduction to the classical model, check out this article.
Most Bible curriculums aim to expose students to Biblical information through lecture, discussion, activities, and games with very little (if any) long term memorization. Bible Quest seeks to train students how to learn for mastery while giving them pieces of Biblical information that are related together in their proper places. This information is intended to become the student's knowledge, and it must be memorized. The Bible Quest Equip Phase provides tools and memory content for this purpose, such as songs, games, maps, and timelines.
Once the student has knowledge, they must learn to use knowledge rightly. The next phase in their journey is to connect the "mental pegs" of information that they've memorized into a larger, cohesive picture. This results in deeper understanding. The Bible Quest Empower Phase has been designed to help mentors and parents to help students develop Biblical understanding, using Explorations (guided studies and conversations) and Exercises (Bible study skills that can be modeled by teachers and then practiced for mastery). Because students already have the facts at their ready recall, student comprehension of what they know will be deeper and founded on God’s Word rather than their own flawed opinions, feelings, or misunderstandings. A student with solid, rightly-connected information will have the tools to teach others God's truth or refute error. This is the final goal: to help parents and mentors teach the minds of their students so well that they become effective, lifelong teachers and world influencers for the sake of Christ.
A student with Biblical knowledge that is correctly governed by Biblical understanding can be given intentional opportunities and guidance over time to apply and share what they've learned develop the final piece: Biblical wisdom. Bible Quest Expedition Phase projects give students a chance to apply and share what they've learned from the Bible. Thus, students can be discipled to use what they know rightly, according to God's Word, not their own whims.
In order to facilitate a mastery approach to learning God's Word, Bible Quest includes 80 weeks of core Biblical content that can be covered in a two-year cycle, one year for the Old Testament and one year for the New Testament. The program is intended to be repeated, but at a deeper level each time the content is reviewed. Each week includes material for an Equip Phase, an Empower Phase, and an Expedition Phase, allowing for any teacher to help their student engage as deeply as needed for their age and aptitude.
Conclusion
The intent and approach of Bible Quest are purposely different from many other methods of teaching Scripture to students. It accomplishes its purpose using a simple, incremental, easily understood plan that equips teachers to teach God's Word effectively to any student at any point in the learning process. Each phase of the program has an important job, and each tool in Bible Quest is intentionally designed to compliment teaching God's Word using the classical model. We pray that Bible Quest is not only effective in helping parents and caring mentors to teach Biblical literacy, but also to train students how to learn God’s Word for the rest of their lives!
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